


Welcome to Rapture

by madammina



Series: The Very Weird Family [3]
Category: BioShock 1 & 2 (Video Games), Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Gen, Or 0.2, Or 3 Promotional stuff, Written Pre 358
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-15
Updated: 2018-11-13
Packaged: 2019-06-27 16:18:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15688989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madammina/pseuds/madammina
Summary: You know how Aqua had that gap between Stitch and Peter Pan?  Well, there was a reason for it... one that would affect her afterward...





	1. Chapter 1

“Ugh” Aqua groaned. She sat up slowly, feeling wet grass under her hands and smelling the sea. The last thing she remembered was leaving that ship and then someone fired at her... Gantu? She finally opened her blue eyes and realized just how small the patch of grass she had landed on was. She scrambled up and felt the grass quickly give way to worn steps. She staggered to her feet and looked up. She was at a lighthouse. She quickly thanked whatever was watching over her, this lighthouse was the only thing she could see for miles, and she was surrounded by ocean. It was a miracle she didn't drown. A cold wind began to whip at her scarf like belt and thunder rumbled ominously in the distance. Before the rain could hit, she ran into the lighthouse. 

Oddly enough, it was apparently still working. As she stepped inside and closed the door, some lights flickered on. Her feet clicked on the floor as she walked forward, eventually, her eyes being drawn up to a large bust of a man holding a large red banner reading “There are no gods or kings, only men.” When the first floor had been exhausted, Aqua walked down the steps and found only a brass sphere floating in a circle of water. Curious, she stepped in, but tripped over the door and knocked a lever over. As the lever fell, the door locked and there was no keyhole to be seen.

“Just about to... hold on. There's someone in there.” Aqua looked around for the voice and discovered it came from a radio. She grabbed one end and began to talk to it.

“Hello? Is anyone there?”

“Well, well, well, we have a new missy coming to rapture.” The voice was male but heavily distorted. “What's yer name.”

“Aqua.” 

“Well, Miss Aqua. You're lucky. We're just about to see if we hacked this. Unless you're related to Andrew Ryan.”

“No... I'm not... Where am I?”

“It's easier to just show you.” This was a new voice, an elegant woman's voice, but one with a commanding air. “Submerge the Bathysphere” Aqua stood still. “It's the lever on the front.” Aqua tentatively did as she was told. Instantly the Bathysphere started to sink. Aqua began to stare out of the window and watched as ads for something called “Plasmids” rolled by outside. Then something began to project on the screen. 

“I'm Andrew Ryan-”

“Ignore that.” It was the woman again. “That Fascist pig is dead. He never followed his own policies anyway. That's why I created the family.” Even the elegant accent couldn't disguise the bitterness of the voice. 

“What ha-” Aqua couldn't finish her question. She was gazing out onto easily the most amazing sight she had ever seen. An entire city, MILES under water, but seemed to be fully functioning. 

“You see Rapture, don't you.” It was the woman again. “Yes, our own piece of Paradise. Few rules, no censors, and we could make it whatever we could. Then Adam was discovered and Ryan broke his own rules. I was locked up because he thought I ran a cult. I managed to save my daughter, and now I am trying to save this city. Will you join our family?”

“I'm sorry, but I don't know what you are talking about. Can we talk about this when I arrive?”

“Fair enough. You're close to arriving now.” Indeed, the bathysphere had fit itself into a tube and it ended up bobbing to a stop. Aqua pushed the door open and walked out into... some sort of a dock. A tall blond woman in a white dress and a blue jacket stood there, but everyone around her only looked vaguely human and a good many of them wore masks. The woman walked forward, holding out her hand. “My name is Sofia Lamb.”

“I'm Aqua,” Aqua replied. “I... don't know... What are you doing?”

“Yes, well, Rapture is a bit hard to take in, but I am trying to help the people of Rapture. Ryan wanted a utopia of individuals, I believe that as a group we can overcome it and find utopia not in a place, but in a state of mind. Through ADAM too.” Sofia just stood there. Aqua shifted her weight. “Where are you from?”

 

“Oh, er, I-” But before Aqua could say anything, some sort of monster humanoid attacked the group. Aqua summoned her keyblade and smacked it upside the head. She moved in to attack again, but one of Lamb's people attacked with a hook attached to her hand, and the new monster's entrails spilled out. Aqua staggered.

“Oh, oh, is..” but before she could form a single sentence something gooey hit the side of her head and turned her vision green. 

“Miss Aqua, then, follow me.” Aqua felt herself move without her willing it. The humanoids closed ranks around her and Lamb as her vision and consciousness went in and out. She saw buildings of ruined splendor, corpses littering the street, random fires, and then more of those humanoids. The next time Aqua woke up a bit, she was strapped to a chair as a large slug was being forced down her throat. The next thing she did was faint.


	2. Chapter 2

Ven kicked his feet as he rested for a moment in space.  He had managed to find several worlds, but he hadn't run across Aqua for a while.  He was getting nervous. After all, she was a big sister to him and he wanted to talk to her, even if she would try to send him back to the Land of Departure.  He hadn't even HEARD of her in months. The last place he knew she visited was Deep Space, and even that was vague. 

 

“LOOK OUT!”  Ven turned to see Terra barrel into him before their keyblades unintentionally transformed and they fell towards the world with the lighthouse.  

–

Ven groaned as he lifted his head up.  Whatever his keyblade had done, it had protected Terra and himself as they had apparently barreled through fathoms of water and let them actually travel through glass and metal... it was Ven's only explanation on why he was sitting on a tile floor and wasn't already drowned.  He rubbed his head, looked up, and was staring into the charred remains of a skeleton strung up on a cross. Ven shrieked and crawled backward as fast as he could. _Thud_ Ven jumped up and whirled around, Keyblade pointing at... Terra. A Terra who was staring at some more strung up corpses.  “Terra, where are we?”

 

“Ven?”  Terra turned and clasped his hands on Ven's shoulders.  “We're not dead!... Where are we?”

 

“Apollo Square”  Ven replied, staring at some point above Terra's head.  “There's something over there about Rapture ID's so I guess Apollo Square is apart of Rapture.”  Terra stood up, avoided a puddle of blood, and looked around. 

 

“How do you know that?”

 

“There's a sign right up over there.”  Ven pointed to a sign above the door. It said they were in Apollo Square, recommended they have Rapture ID's out and a poster nearby promoted an orphanage of a sort.

 

“Why are they strung up?”  Terra asked. The room looked like it used to be grand, but it hadn't just fallen to seed, the place looked like a wreck.  The walls were scorched and half demolished, rubble was strewn everywhere, and some heavily used and scorched furniture appeared to be used as barricades.  Then there were the corpses hung or crucified everywhere, and then some which just lay on the ground. “Ven, we need to get out of here.”

 

The two keyblade wielders started to explore the empty halls. They first entered a room that had upturned trains, trash, and walls covered with pictures of apparently those who had gone missing in... whatever had caused this chaos.   The fact that only corpses and trash littered the halls made their hairs stand up on end. Well, it was almost empty.

 

“None of these other chumps will talk to me, think I'm a freak... To hell with them!"   Terra flinched at the language, but Ven wanted to throw up at what he saw. A man with tumor growths and an eyepatch -and raggedy clothes- wandered in front of them.  Whatever he-it-he was, the man wasn't an unversed. Terra stepped backward, wanting to drag Ven away quietly- his hand rested over Ven's mouth to muffle any sound, but the _clink_  of his shoes gave him away.  The man turned. “You come to laugh at me, too?!”

 

“No” Ven insisted as soon as he took Terra's hand from his mouth.  “We just-” But the man pulled out a gun and began to shoot at them.  

 

"You call the cops on me?!" 

 

“NO!”  Terra insisted as he pulled his keyblade out to defend himself and Ven.  Ven struck back by using a Thunder Surge as Terra managed to strike out. The man let out a bone-chilling scream then dropped dead.  He didn't disappear. 

 

“Terra....”  Ven choked out.  The body wasn't moving, wasn't disappearing, blood was dripping from its forehead,  and Ven had never seen anything like it. 

 

“Ven, move.”  Terra grabbed Ven's arm.  “I don't know what's going on here either, but I have a feeling being by this... if we don't clear out of here soon there could be trouble.”  Ven closed his eyes and ran away, holding onto Terra's arm for dear life. 

 

“I smell an Angel, let's catch it!”  The line made no sense, but they were so happy to hear something innocuous they ran towards the sound. They turned a corner and saw

 

“Aqua” Ven muttered.  But she was... off. Her eyes were glowing yellow- they could tell even from here.  Her skin glowed gold too despite looking like she hadn't washed up in months, she was barefoot and her clothes were in tatters.  A large diving suit was following her, its porthole glowing yellow too. Aqua was very giggly as she walked over to one of the corpses in front of the wrecked apartment building and stuck a large needle into it.  Ven ran forward, but a hand grasped his shoulder.

 

“You move towards her, you die.”  The voice wasn't Terra's. It was a woman's, with an accent.  “You know her?”

 

“She's our friend, so stop threatening us.”  Terra retorted, and Ven could sense he had summoned his keyblade.  

 

“And if you Spliced up to give you that... weapon... then you are after her for her ADAM.”  Ven turned around upon hearing that and saw the woman for the first time. She was old and weary.  Her brown hair was slightly striped with grey, her brown eyes were tired, and she held a rifle in her hand.  

 

“I'm Ventus, call me Ven.  And no, she's a friend. I don't know what ADAM is, but I've been wondering where she was.  Her name is Aqua. She's taken care of me, a lot...” He rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. He glanced back briefly to see Aqua leaving what was left of the room.  Terra dismissed his keyblade. 

 

“My name is Brigid Tenenbaum” She still looked wary, but lowered her gun slightly. 

 

“My name is Terra.  I was raised with Aqua and I had noticed her absence too.  She... can be a bit of a goody two shoes but she means well.”  Tenenbaum glared at them.

 

“Her favorite food is lasagna, she knows how to cartwheel, and sews her own clothes.”  Ven supplied. With this information, Tenenbaum looked relieved.

 

“So, you do actually know her?”

"Yes,”  Terra replied, his eyes flicking towards a fight two mutated people were having.  “Now what happened to her?” Tenenbaum waited for a second, then grabbed their arms and pulled them towards a door.

 

“Follow me, I'll explain it when we get there. “

 

At least a half an hour later Terra and Ven were being waited upon by Tenenbaum and a gaggle of young girls.  Tenenbaum finished with the pancakes, served the girls, that sat down across from Terra and Ven holding onto a cup of coffee.

 

“Your friend is a Little Sister.”   
  
“That's impossible” Ven blurted out.  “She's older than me! And she's around Terra's age!”

 

“That's not the kind of Little Sister I meant.”  Tenenbaum sighed. “I'm sure you noticed that this place is Hell.”  

 

“There were corpses.”  Was Ven's traumatized reply.  Tenenbaum smiled grimly. 

  
“I helped cause this.  A man named Andrew Ryan, he's dead now, was fed up with the world above the sea so he built Rapture as a place of his ideals.  Only the best and the brightest would be allowed, and there would be no laws besides a few obvious ones.” She took a sip of her coffee now.  “I was one of those. I came down here and discovered what ended up causing this place of Ruin. no.” She corrected herself after a moment. “It would have fallen anyway, but not this far, not this fast, and without as many casualties as you see now.”  The only thing that was heard was the little girls' utensils scraping on the plate. “ADAM. It allowed the genes to do whatever you wanted. It's the find of the century and it caused this insanity. A side effect of ADAM usage IS insanity.” She took a sip of coffee at this moment.

 

“I doubt that's true...” Ven started to plead.  “It's just being stir cra-” Tenenbaum had started to dig in a bag by her side and pulled out some sort of a rectangular machine with a speaker of some sort that landed on the table with a _CLUNK_ She pressed a button on the side and it creaked into action.

 

 

_''The Wild Bunny by Sander Cohen: I want to take the ears off, but I can't. I hop, and when I hop, I never get off the ground. It's my curse, my eternal curse! I want to take the ears off but I can't! It's my curse! It's my fu-”_

Tenenbaum quickly switched it off.  “ That was our greatest artist.” Terra and Ven stared at the tape recorder.  

 

“That... that..”  The echoing pain, the anger, it wasn't just a poem, for this 'Cohen' it was real.  She pulled out another tape. 

 

“Would you like to hear one of our doctors?”

 

“I'll... I'll pass.”  Ven said nothing in response to Terra but started to gnaw on a knuckle in distress.  

 

“If only...But no one knew the side effects when we started.  Steinman was using it for plastic surgery, others were using it to enhance themselves.  The ability to shoot fire, run faster, to do whatever they want.” There was no mistaking the bitterness in her voice.  “And while Ryan refused to control ADAM for safety reasons, there was a shortage. And that is where I cause your friends condition.  I created the Little Sisters.” She placed her cup of coffee down and rested her head in her hands as she muttered for a bit in another language.  Terra and Ven let her talk, secretly sneaking some of the pancakes given them, as the little girls surrounded Tenenbaum and tried to comfort her. After a few minutes, Tenenbaum pulled herself together.  “I found that implanting the slug that gives ADAM into a young girls stomach then making the subject regurgitate would increase ADAM yield.”

 

“But, Aqua's not a young girl.”  Terra finally spoke up. “She's-”

 

“It means Sofia Lamb is desperate.  I've been rescuing Little Sisters and whatever Lamb has planned it involves them.  Aqua won't give as much ADAM as any of the younger girls, but she's one of the few operating now.”  Tenenbaum sat back now, and pulled a white stick from a case, before putting it back. “I'm trying to quit.”  She explained quietly. “I can't hurt my Girls, and they cough when I smoke.” This meant nothing to Ven and Terra, so they just nodded.  “I can help you get Aqua back, and I can try to take the slug out, but I don't know about the programming.”

 

“Programming?  Is Aqua a computer or something?”  Ven asked. Tenenbaum gave a small smile.

 

“No, I wish it was that simple.  They are locked up for a long time and shown images, put in experiments... the end result are little girls who are unaware of what Rapture looks like, are willing to drink ADAM from corpses they see as Angels, and only trust their Big Daddies.  The diving suit you saw earlier.” She added upon seeing their confusion. “And the Daddies WILL kill you if they think you are going to hurt their Sister.” Terra finally spoke up.

 

“Who are the Big Daddies?”  He tapped the worn wooden table.  “If the Little Sisters are people, then who are the Daddies?”  

 

“Probably political prisoners.  I never knew, and I never inquired too deeply.”  One of the girls climbed up on Tenenbaum's lap, and she started to absently stroke her hair.  “All I wanted was to rescue my girls.” Terra and Ven took a good look at the Girls for the first time.  They all wore a straggly dress, but someone had obviously tried to fix them up with limited materials. They at the very least looked neat and taken care of.  Some of the girls had taken to drawing designs on their clothes with crayons. In fact, crayon drawings papered the walls of the apartment like complex that Tenenbaum lived in. The drawings ranged from the odd – an upside down house- to angels to knights in shining armor protecting people.   The only non Crayon drawings were a series of mathematical equations that were obviously Tenenbaum's. “If we're going to take down a Big Daddy, we need to plan”

 

“Why don't we just stop time?”  Ven asked, but Tenenbaum glared at him.

 

“You spliced?”

 

“What?”

 

“ADAM, you spliced!”

 

“What? No!  It's Magic.”  Before he could go on, she had grabbed his arms and pulled the sleeves up on his arm.  She then checked the other one, and then checked both of Terra's arms.

 

“What are you-”

 

“Track marks, from using the syringes.”    Ven still didn't understand what was going on but decided to keep quiet just in case.  After Tenenbaum had satisfied herself they hadn't “spliced” up -whatever THAT was – she sat back down in her seat.  

 

“You only want that one.”

 

“Yes, we only want Aqua.”  Terra insisted. “She's our friend.”  Tenenbaum opened her case, pulled out a white stick, then shut it with a snap.

 

“Follow me” she demanded and the two keyblade wielders did so.  As soon as they left the apartment, Tenenbaum positioned herself outside of the door and pulled out a match to light the stick.  She put it in her mouth to inhale, then let the smoke go. Terra managed to hold down his coughs, but Ven started to hack.

 

“I can't let them overhear, they're still fond of their Big Daddies.  Unless some splicers attack Aqua's Daddy, we're going to have to kill it.”  Ven tried to stop hacking to say something, but couldn't. Fortunately, Terra knew what he wanted to say.

 

“We can't do that.  We can't kill anyone, especially not someone who doesn't have a choice.”  

 

“You already have blood on your hands, from the Splicer you killed earlier.”

 

“What's a splicer?”  Ven managed to wheeze out.  He backed up several feet away and finally managed to draw in cleaner lungfuls of air.   Terra walked over to see if he was okay. 

 

“One who alters their Genetic code with Plasmids to gain abilities.  There are very few sane people in Rapture, even fewer Unspliced. Yes, I've spliced too...  I made a plasmid that removes the slug without killing them.” 

 

Terra was going to ask about the slug, only to feel a needle stick in his neck and hiss before he turned around.  

 

“WHAT WAS THAT???”  he finally roared. 

 

“The Pheromone given to Big Daddies so the Little Sisters will be attracted to them.  You're strong enough to hold off a Splicer attack. She's going to be attracted to you once the other Daddy is eliminated.  

 

Tenenbaum finished her white stick, ground it under her foot, and walked towards the door.  “As soon as my girls start reacting to you, Terra, we'll head out.”

**

About an hour later Terra, Ven, and Dr. Tenenbaum- wielding a shotgun that she looked more than capable with-  surrounded Apollo Square. Terra covered Ven's eyes and ears while two splicers got into a fight, but he lost an argument with Tenenbaum to send Ven back. 

  
“I can't take on a Big Daddy by myself in Apollo Square.  And you DO want Aqua back.” Tenenbaum quietly reasoned, eyeing how far the Splicers were from their safe point behind some rubble. 

 

“Yes, but Ven's...  Ven only knows the last few years of his life.  He's really like your Girls. He's a keyblade wielder, but... Let's just go back, and do this in a bit.”

 

“He'd be murdered or lead the Splicers right to my girls.  I'll take care of him when you get Aqua. But right... Shhh...”  Tenenbaum gestured for the three to hide behind the rubble. 

 

“Hip Hop, Mr. B, no time to waste!”  Aqua and her Big Daddy walked into the large square.  She smiled when she saw the body, and gave a very girlish giggle and ran over.  “Look, Mr. B, ADAM!” 

 

“Now.”  Tenenbaum hissed.  Before Aqua could dig her needle into the body, the three vaulted over the rubble and swarmed the Big Daddy.  The Big Daddy revved his drill as Aqua fell back a bit, cowering.

 

“UNZIP THEM, MR. B. UNZIP THEM!”  Aqua screamed. Terra realized exactly what she meant and blocked the first blow aimed at Tenenbaum.  Ven tried to cast Stopga, but the Big Daddy threw it off.

 

_BANG_   Tenenbaum shot the Big Daddy, who reeled but charged towards Ven.  Ven dodged and shot Firaga at the Big Daddie's back as Tenenbaum reloaded.   

 

“KILL THEM!”  Aqua shouted again, but all three ignored her for now.  Tenenbaum aimed again, and right as she fired, Ven used Thudaga with Terra following up with Ars Solum.  The Big Daddy fell flat. They barely allowed themselves time to comprehend what they did. Aqua ran towards the fallen body and fell next to it.  She wrapped her arms around it.

 

“Wake up, Mr. Bubbles, Wake up.”  Terra took the front, while Ven and Tenenbaum defended him.

 

“Aqua.  Aqua, look at me.”  he grasped her chin and gently pulled it up.  “Come on, I'm here to take you home.”

 

“Y-y-you was sleepin' forever, Mr. Bubbles!! Good morning!" 

 

“I'm not Mr. B, but come on.”  He turned around so his back faced her.  “Get up on my back, okay? I'll take you somewhere safe.”    Aqua squealed and clambered up on Terra's back as something started to gather towards the entrances.

 

“Terra, do you know your way back?” Tenenbaum asked as she loaded her gun.   
  
“Yes... I think so.”

 

“Good, Ven and I will hold off the Splicers, you take her back to the other Girls.”  Terra nodded and ran off into Rapture.

**

Aqua was significantly lighter then he expected, but it didn't take long before he grew tired, and lost. It didn't take long for Aqua to fall asleep either, and shortly after a very confused Terra was staring at a brightly painted wall covered with butterflies he had never seen before.

 

“So you have found my last working Little Sister.”  A blond woman stepped out of the shadows. “How did you make it down here?”

 

“I don't know.  Who are you?” Terra tensed, causing Aqua to stir.  He couldn't fight, not with her clinging to him.

 

“I am simply a woman with an idea, and you have the tools to bring Utopia to Rapture.”

 

“What are you talking about?”   
  
“The Little Sister-”

  
“Her name is Aqua,” Terra growled.

 

“Fine then, Aqua.   The ADAM that she gathers has the memories of those who used it before. Eventually, everyone's self will be subjugated.  We will all work for the greater good. Right now she is the only tool to make that happen, so hand her over.” Terra backed up slightly.  

  
“No.”  Terra firmly replied.  He couldn't just fight her, she wasn't acting threatening.  And she didn't look Spliced...

 

“Don't we all owe each other a sense of brotherhood?  Why are you denying others what could lead to their salvation?  Your heart is like all others-”

 

“Terra.”

 

“Terra.  See, you trust.  You give yourself over to the idea of others willingly.”

 

“What do you mean my heart is like the others.”

 

“All humans seek power, you are not different.  You seek your power over all others. How many people will you trample beneath your feet?”  Terra fidgeted. Did she know how to defeat the darkness?

 

“So, what do you suggest?”  He asked. He still didn't trust her but maybe she was right.  And he HAD trusted Hades after all, so if he didn't Trust her, could she know a way out of the Darkness?

 

“The end of self.  By eliminating your self – no, not suicide- you can quash all that you hold in your heart.  Your power can be shared among all.” 

 

“I....  it makes sense, but what does Aqua have to do with this?  I know her well enough to know she wouldn't ask to be turned into this.”  Then again... maybe she did? She could fight off almost anything. Aqua stirred on his back.  

 

“As I said, she is the tool for Rapture's rebirth.  Let her take your ADAM and return to the cycle.”

 

“I... I'm not Spliced.”  the woman didn't look startled at this news.  

 

“I thought that may be the case.  Then help us in other ways. Maybe even Splice yourself so you can appreciate what others can give.”

 

“No. It's”  it's tempting.  Not just the power, but if he could figure out what he could do to... to stop... who? Himself? Vanitas?  And to understand what people thought. Wasn't that partly why he tried to become a Keyblade Master? To help others?

 

“Sing me a Lullaby, Mr. Bubbles”  Aqua tightened her grip on Terra's neck as she fussed a bit on his back.  

  
“I'm already helping others.”  Terra tried to sound confident.  

 

“By helping Aqua, you are only denying salvation to others.”

 

“She's MY family.  I'm not risking her safety for something I don't fully understand..”  Terra growled. Where were the Splicers? Was Tenenbaum holding them back? Or this woman?

 

“Then I will teach you, and you can join our family to be redeemed.”

 

“I may have issues with my family, but redemption doesn't mean subjugating others will for your own gain.”

 

“But wouldn't your parents subjugate your will in order advance their own sense?  You owe a sense of brotherhood, so hand over the little sister. It will give others redemption, they would do the same for you.”

 

“And what about Aqua?  In your own philosophy, she is to be helped.  I don't see this form as helping anyone.”

 

“She will never be alone if she joins us.”

 

“Without a choice in the matter? To be just a number in... whatever you have planned.”  Terra needed to leave, now. He was a sitting duck, and who knows what had happened to Ven and Tenenbaum. 

 

“But her minor discomfort would create a greater good in all of the Family.  They would be reborn in her and in Eleanor.” 

 

“And in my family, the greater good means doing what your heart tells you.”   
  


“Your family is flawed.” Terra felt the insult like a slap across his face. 

 

“No, it isn't Master Eraqus”

  
“There, you see? _MASTER_   He isn't your equal.”

 

“Of course not, he raised us.”   Terra turned around, so his back was towards how he entered.  He didn't want to be rude, but he may need to make a quick exit.   “And I will not get rid of the family I have.”

 

“But will they support you forever?”  Terra's heart almost stopped cold. “Sooner or later, they will abandon you.  You did something they can no longer stand. If all you have is that family, what will happen then?”  Terra started to take a step back. “Join the Family, eliminate your self, and be free to help others and be accepted for who you truly are.”  Terra fled. The Blond woman had never said her name or raised her voice, but there was no denying both the truth she spoke and how terrifying her vision was. 


	3. Chapter 3

“I see you made it.”  Terra's heart still racing, he finally managed to find Tenenbaum's safe house.  He looked up when he heard Tenenbaum's voice.

 

“Yeah, it was touch and go for a bit though.”  He knelt down and slid Aqua off of his back. Her feet slapped against the floor and she looked around while Terra walked over to one of the seats and slumped down in exhaustion.  Aqua was quickly surrounded by the other girls. 

“A Splicer?” Tenenbaum asked, fiddling with her white sticks again.   

 

“I don't... She didn't seem spliced.” Terra groaned and rested his head on the table.   
  
“I'm just glad you're okay!”  Ven announced. Terra turned and saw Ven laying on the ground, working on a drawing.  From what Terra could see, it was Ven, Aqua, Master Eraqus, and himself at Land of Departure.   The ex-Little sisters were gathering around Ven and giggling. One was sneaking over with a crayon.

 

“There are no little boys.” Tenenbaum sighed as she watched.  “I never found out why. Little Girls always worked best, but the boys weren't bad, just aggressive.”  the girls had tackled Ven and started to draw on his art. 

  
“HEY!”   Ven laughed and tried to grab his art away.  Aqua's eyes widened a bit when she finished pulling herself together.  

 

“VEN!”  She squealed and tackled him after he stole his picture back.  Ven collapsed under the weight and the Sister giggled. “I found you!” She sat on him.  “I was told to bring your back, RIGHT AWAY. But you're here now!” she giggled. “But I don't wanna go back.  I have Angels to help.” She pouted and crossed her arms on Ven's back while he strained to get up. 

 

“Terra?”  Ven groaned, he finally gave up and rested his head on his hands while Aqua kept him lying on the cold ground.  Terra started to get up, but Tenenbaum was up first. 

 

“You're name is Aqua, yes?”  Aqua turned her pure yellow glowing eyes towards Tenenbaum who crouched by Ven.  “Will you come with me?” she held out her hand, which Aqua tentatively took.

 

“I'm not supposed to go with Strangers.”  She muttered.

 

“I'm not a stranger, I'm your mother... in a manner of speaking.”

 

“NO!”  Aqua shouted. “Mommy is a BAD WORD.”  She stood up – she was about Tenenbaum's height.  No one that old or as mature as Aqua should act that young... it looked wrong- Tenenbaum's hand started to glow. 

 

“Here.  Let me heal you.”  Tenenbaum's voice dropped to a low, comforting murmur. 

  
“NO! No!”  She started to scream. She looked frightened and ran back towards the back wall.  Terra and Ven started to stop Tenenbaum but the Little Sisters kept them back. Tenenbaum grabbed Aqua's hand and pulled her close.  She raised her right hand and it began to glow as she extended it towards Aqua. Aqua's eyes started to close, her screams grew fainter, and then she turned back to normal as she collapsed in a faint.  

 

“She's alright,”  Tenenbaum whispered as the Sisters retreated from Terra and Ven.  “I think it just overtaxed her system.” She turned to look at Terra.  “Would you mind helping her into the bed?” Terra nodded and walked over to pick up Aqua as Ven ran to get a blanket.  He passed by the sole TV – creepily stuck on “Please Stand By”- and it flicked to the moving picture of -

 

“THAT'S THE WOMAN  I SAW EARLIER!” Terra shouted.  Aqua jerked in her sleep and Tenenbaum's expression immediately soured.  

 

“Sofia Lamb” she growled.  “We need to get out of here now.”

 

“Family of Rapture,”  Lamb spoke. It was an imperious tone, but somewhat comforting.  Terra started to think back about what she had promised him. To help him conquer ambition and therefore the Darkness.  “Someone has entered Rapture, but are fighting against the family.” An image of Ven and Terra – with the dead Splicer from when they arrived- appeared on the screen.  “They have taken our last hope of Salvation, our last Little Sister, and have allied with Brigid Tenenbaum who not only created the means for our rebirth but is now taking it away.”  Tenenbaum ran over to the door and locked it, then began to pull furniture over to block it. “They are by Apollo Square. Help us save them.” the image of Lamb disappeared. Terra couldn't let Aqua get taken again.  He and Ven looked at each other and nodded. 

 

“Dr. Tenenbaum, do you trust me?”  Terra grabbed Tenenbaum by her gun arm, so she would have to notice him.  “I have an idea, but I need your trust.” She paused, thinking it over, then nodded.  Ven gathered the girls together. They could hear something outside the door. “Great.  What is the safest place you know of, outside of Rapture? A place we can just show up and just be protected without being questioned. “   
  
“Jack... He's.” She glanced back towards the door.  They could hear pounding now, and some muttered threats.

 

" _ The party has started, hurry up! _ " 

" _ I know you can hear me. _ " 

" _ Ya? Well, you're fired! Ya got that? _ " 

“At least three splicers so far, it's only going to increase,”  Tenenbaum muttered, as she gripped her pistol. Indeed, already, some of the wood was splintering.  

 

“Just get Aqua on my back, then we'll go from there.”  Terra pleaded. Dr. Tenenbaum pulled Aqua up on his back and helped him adjust the comatose form.  The sounds outside were getting louder, _BANGS_ were heard now and again. They must have gotten their hands on something to knock the door down.  “Alright,” he muttered as he summoned the keyblade. “Hold onto my arm and think of your safe place.” Tenenbaum did so, her eyes closed and her gun pointed at the door.   Terra pointed the keyblade, and a teleporting corridor opened. Ven rushed the girls through, then Tenenbaum released Terra's arm and ran through the silver oval herself, then Terra fled through as fast as he could.  Right as Terra vanished, the corridor closed and the Splicers smashed their way into the apartment. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tenenbaum's one splice... more like a tonic. What removed the slug from the Little Sisters as SOMEONE had to do it before she found Jack. Even if you kill every little sister, there are still some around her safe house or in the finale.


	4. Chapter 4

The white two-story house was so normal, Terra almost dropped the still sleeping Aqua out of shock. A man walked out of the house, turned and took a double take when he realized what he was seeing. The girls squealed and ran over to him.

“That's Jack Ryan. He saved all the girls a year ago or so. It's hard to keep track of time...”

“That's fine, but why did Aqua just mutter 'Fascist Pig?” Terra asked bewilderingly. Tenenbaum looked like she didn't know whether or not to laugh so she simply walked towards Jack and whispered something to him. He nodded, then walked towards Terra, Ven, and Aqua.

“Call me Jack, you should probably head inside.”   
**  
Jack's house was neat, but cramped and clearly second hand. There were at least 20 little girls running around inside. A large amount of them immediately gravitated towards Terra and began to try to show him things. After a few minutes, they realized that Terra was not a Big Daddy, and began to focus on Ven instead. The new girls were standing in the door in shock. Tenenbaum slowly lifted Aqua off of Terra and began to carry her to the what was apparently the bathroom.

“I'm going to wash her up, you stay here.” Terra and Ven were only more than happy to agree. They both sat down at the table, but Ven started to fall asleep, so Jack sent him to the master bedroom to take a nap.

“So, you were turned into a Big Daddy too,” Jack asked Terra, Terra was surprised. “I needed to escort some sisters, so Tenenbaum put me under the knife to turn me into a partial Big Daddy. I recovered later.” One of the ex-Little Sisters came up and gave Terra a picture of a school, and Jack a picture of a dog. “At least they're healing. I won't send them to school until they can reasonably function... I'm debating on the dog though. There are no animals in Rapture.”

“I'm glad I don't live there,” Terra admitted. And for once he was glad that the worlds were not allowed to interact. If Rapture had been allowed to touch any others... then again... Terra looked around for a second. The girls were playing happily, pictures covered the walls (There were some golden knights here too, but a significant amount of drawings also showed dogs, houses, people, and flowers), and outside things looked normal. Maybe it was just the city of Rapture he should worry about.

“Terra?” Terra jumped and looked at Jack. Jack was holding a large pot. “Would you like to help with dinner?”

“Oh, sure....” Terra was grateful for being pulled out of his thoughts. As he tried to boil the water, some of the things Sofia Lamb had said still haunted him. _Don't we all owe each other a sense of brotherhood? Why are you denying others what could lead to their salvation?... All humans seek power, you are not different. You seek your power over all others. How many people will you trample beneath your feet?... Your family is flawed....Will they support you forever? Sooner or later, they will abandon you. You did something they can no longer stand. If all you have is that family, what will happen then?... Eliminate your self, and be free to help others and be accepted for who you truly are_. Did she... She wasn't right about Aqua but could she be right about the others. Maybe...

  
“Did you know a woman named 'Sofia Lamb'?” Terra finally asked, mopping up the water he spilled. Jack thought a second, not really looking at the spaghetti in his hand.

“No, sorry.” Jack finally said as he shook his head. “But Rapture is huge.”

“Lamb only broke out after Fontaine...” Tenenbaum strode back into the room, a sleepy but normal looking Aqua stumbled after her in the same tattered dress she wore in Rapture. She was going to finish the sentence, but Jack understood... and Aqua interrupted her.

“Terra? You're here too! YAY! I'm glad you saved me.” Terra blinked and sat back down in his chair.

“I told you, she is still programmed. I have an idea on how to speed up the deprogramming, but it will need strong paternal and maternal figure. I will be the maternal figure but-”

“Master Eraqus. He's our teacher. Aqua was always a bit of a goody two shoes, and she trusts him.” Terra leaned back in his chair, but almost tipped the chair over when Aqua jumped into his lap.

“Can you tell me a story, Mr. B?” She asked as she snuggled into his chest. Terra tentatively put his hands around her waist.

“I don't have a story for you.” He muttered as a few girls began to walk into the room.

“Tell us a story Mr. Bubbles!”  
“Yeah, Jack isn't good at stories.”  
“How about Little Red Riding Hood!”  
“No, there's a wolf in that. I don't like wolves.”

Terra listened to the babble as more girls (and Ven) walked into the room. With a sigh, he stretched his shoulders and began to talk while Ven and Dr. Tenenbaum discussed something quietly.

“Once upon a time, a mother duck was taking care of her eggs. All the eggs but one came out as perfect ducklings. The last one was large, grey and noisy...”   
**  
After dinner and all the girls – including Aqua- had been put to bed, the grownups sat around the kitchen table. Terra had been assigned the job of writing the note. Tenenbaum had insisted he write so Master Eraqus wouldn't kill her as soon as she arrived. While Terra doubted that would happen, he knew part of it was protection for herself and he went along with it.

“I do not see why you can not introduce me to your Lehrer,” Tenenbaum grumbled. She was playing with those white sticks again.

  
“If you smoke, go outside.” Jack sighed as he rubbed the tattoos of chains on his wrist. Ven was almost falling asleep at the table again, a mug of hot chocolate resting in front of him.

“Because... because we can't go back until we do something. I can't go into it, I'm sorry.” Terra explained before biting the end of the pen.

_Dear Master Eraqus,_

_The woman before you is a very brave woman named Dr. Brigid Tenenbaum. She comes from a world called “Rapture”, but the name is ironic for the world. Aqua somehow arrived on Rapture and was turned into a creature called a “Little Sister”. Ven and I helped rescue Aqua and helped Tenenbaum and the other Ex-Little Sisters escape. Part of being a Little Sister involves mental reprogramming and Tenenbaum has an idea on how to quickly reverse it, but to do it she needs your help somehow._

_Tenenbaum knows simply that the keyblades are mystical weapons who can create portals. We have not introduced the concept of other worlds up to the point I am writing this letter. She's smart though so she'll figure it out fairly quickly._

_Ven and I would both trust Dr. Tenenbaum with our lives. We have only known her a brief amount of time but she has shown herself to be smart, competent, no-nonsense, and quite willing to get into fights but only if she can save someone with them. I also want to see Aqua back, and as Dr. Tenenbaum has intimate knowledge of the reprogramming she is able to help save Aqua._

_When Ven and I finish what we must do, we will return to the land of Departure._

_-Terra_

Terra looked up from his note to see Jack lifting Ven up from his seat to help him move towards the couch.

“I've got the floor set up for you. I'm sorry it won't be more comfortable.” Jack apologized, but Terra shook his head.

“It's alright. It's just for one night. And, I would like to thank you for this.” Terra made a vague gesture while Jack struggled with Ven's shoes. “Er, I'll get that.”

“Thanks.” Jack leaned back and stretched with a yawn. “Breakfast is at 8, so I expect to see you there. Whatever is going on, I know you don't want the girls to see so I'll take them out window shopping. We'll be back around 10ish. I recommend you be gone by then. The girls don't want to see their Daddy gone.”

Terra nodded as he finished unbuckling Ven's shoes then stood up to hand the note to Tenenbaum.

“Seal it,” she ordered. Terra blinked in confusion. “Do you not have some insignia that marks this letter as coming from you? Your armor, yes?” She saw Terra wasn't getting this. “If you seal the letter in wax with a mark from you, your Lehrer will trust it more, yes?” She gestured to a candle nearby. Terra finally understood, folded up the letter, and dripped some wax onto the folds that closed the letter. He then unhooked his Wielder's Mark from his belt and applied it to the wax. When he withdrew it, the wax began to cool and soon the letter could not be opened without breaking the seal. Tenenbaum took the letter in her hands and put it into her bag with a nod. “Now, I will go sleep with my little ones.” And she walked off. Jack put Ven's mug in the sink, shook Terra's hand, and walked off to his bed too. Terra pulled his own shoes and armor off, then laid down on the floor. With a small smile, he pulled the blanket over him, closed his eyes, and tried to go to sleep.  
**  
“Terra, wake up, NOW.” Terra's eyes flew open and he summoned his keyblade. He swung it but stopped short when he realized it was Jack who had woken him up. “Get Ven and get upstairs.”

“Splicers?” Terra asked, did his portal not close enough?

“No, worse... uninvited guests. The Meltzer's are here.”

“Who?”

“They're... look, Mark and Amanda are very nice but I know Amanda is suspicious of me and I already am taking care of twenty... six? Girls now. I just can't have her see you three.” Terra nodded and got Ven up to the top floor. As Ven slowly woke up- and Aqua played with someone's teddy bear-, Terra watched the two below. The woman – Amanda- was just starting to show pregnant. The man was very proud of her and seemed to like the girls too. After talking a bit the two left.  
**  
Tenebaum was running through her bag one more time after everyone but the Keyblade Wielders left. She kept a few of the recorders, along with the letter, her pistol and ammo, a wrench, some sort of creme cake, and a journal to keep track of her scientific thoughts.

“Your Lehrer, his name is...”

“Master Eraqus,” Terra replied. “I'll send you and Aqua to him. He's...” Terra didn't want to say anything. “He treats those close to him like family.” That should work, right? “But he can be a bit strict.”

“I'll say, I had to sneak out too.” Ven stopped when he saw Terra glare at him. “He can be protective,” Ven admitted. But the thought led him to puzzle, why DID Master Eraqus keep him from leaving the other worlds? Terra and Aqua had been allowed to return home, but Ven had never even been told what his home was. Ven tried to remember what his home was, but the headaches started up again, so he retreated from the thoughts. Aqua was sitting on the floor drawing and waiting.

“Herr Terra, you will ...”

“Yeah.” Terra pointed his keyblade towards a wall, and the silver disk appeared. There. Tenenbaum shook their hands, muttered “Auf Weiderzein”, took Aqua by the hand, and walked through. Terra created a separate portal he and Ven walked through.

“Do you think we should try-” Ven had barely asked his question before hordes of Unversed surged upon them. The two nodded and split in different directions to make the fight easier.   
**  
“What do you want?” So, this was Eraqus, Tenenbaum thought. He was probably older than her, scarred and dressed like some sort of samurai. Maybe he was Spliced too. He too held a key as a weapon.

“My name is Dr. Brigid Tenenbaum,” she said coolly. “I was told you can help Aqua, yes?” She pulled the letter from her sack. “Terra wrote this to give to you.” As Master Eraqus broke the seal and read the short note, Tenenbaum pulled Aqua back from the walls of the courtyard.

“Where do you think you are?” Eraqus asked when he was done reading.

“Columbia, but there is no racist propaganda.” Eraqus wasn't sure how to react to this statement, so he folded up the letter.

“And Terra and Ven?”

“They are safe. They could not return for the present. Ven is a runaway?”

“Are there angels here?” Aqua asked, her eyes wide. “Mr. Erkus, I saw Angels in Rapture. They were so pretty... And there were fish in the sky!”

“She's not crazy” Tenenbaum butted in on seeing Eraqus' expression. “But first get her a room and clothes.”

“What right do you have to give orders like that?” Anger, not a question. Eraqus finally pulled himself together and pointed the keyblade at Tenenbaum... who pulled her pistol and pointed it right back.

“Because the only thing I desire is for Aqua to return to normal. I made the Little Ones, I want to fix it.”

“If you created them, why should I trust you?”

“Because I regret it! My life is spent undoing that which cannot be fixed.” She struggled to pull herself back under control before she continued. “You do not have to trust me, all I ask is that you trust me to fix Aqua. That is all I do. Then I take care of the rest of my Little ones.” She uncocked her pistol and put it back in the bag. “Please.”

“How did you get here?”

“Herr Terra created a portal using his own keyblade.”

“What is a Keyblade?”

“A weapon of some sort that makes portals.”

“Why did he make a 'portal' here?”

“He said if anyone was a pater to Aqua, it was you.”

“How long will you stay?”

“Until the deprogramming is complete. Then I return home.”

“And where is home?”

“The house of Jack Ryan. He saved many of my Little Ones.”

“And why did Aqua say 'Fascist pig'?” Master Eraqus asked in confusion. Tenenbaum sighed and rested her head in her hands.

“Sofia Lamb got to her. I'll try to fix that.” Her voice was muffled through her hands, so Aqua came over to pull them away from Tenenbaum's face.

“You okay?” Aqua asked sweetly, giving a bright smile. “Mommy may be a bad word, but I think you would be a good one.” As Eraqus listed to what Aqua said, he was struck by how serious she was... and how childlike.

“How much of Aqua is in there?” This one wasn't demanding, he was honestly worried.

  
“All of her... she just thinks she is a child now. And maybe it would be okay for her to be that way, to hide Rapture and it's cruelties. But I know this is not to be.” Tenenbaum brushed some hair from Aqua's face as she said this.

“And what makes you say that?”

“I have seen Terra, Ven, and Aqua fighting. They are not meant to be children forever.”

“No one is.” Eraqus let his keyblade vanish. “I do not trust you, but Aqua needs to return to normal and both Ven and Terra trust you, so I will trust you to fix Aqua. Beyond that, you will earn my trust.”

“I understand. My home may be with Herr Jack, but I lived for years in Rapture. There you shoot first and trust later.” One of the last bits of confirmation Eraqus needed. He folded his letter, walked over to the door and opened it. “Dr. Brigid Tenenbaum, Welcome to the Land of Departure.” Tenenbaum gave a short curtsy, and holding the jubilant Aqua's hand, they walked into Aqua's home.


	5. Chapter 5

As Terra had predicted, Tenenbaum figured out fairly quickly that she was in another world. Unfortunately, she didn't handle it as well as Terra had thought she would. She shut herself up in the library for a day, doing frantic research. Due to her mumblings about height, Eraqus figured it might have to do with how the Land of Departure was set up; in addition to the fact it was another world.

 

She emerged at the end of the day to ask his forgiveness. Aqua was playing in her room -it was very pink- and Eraqus was dispassionately watching her.

 

“Now do you see why I would have rather you did not come?” Eraqus demanded, ignoring Aqua trying to get his attention. Tenenbaum noticed though, and sat down in a chair, then gestured for Aqua to walk over. Aqua refused and hid behind Master Eraqus. “Why is she acting like this?” he asked.

 

“Little Sisters are programmed to hate and fear maternal figures. Part of the reprogramming will get her to trust women again. You heard her say how 'Mommy is a bad word'.” Tenenbaum tapped the table as she spoke. “I must fix my mistake.”   

 

“Most people have mistakes they want to fix,”  Eraqus said in reply. Aqua had sat down and was now trying to hide from Tenenbaum by hiding under the table. “Aqua, go to her.”

 

“But Mister Erkus” she began to plead.  

 

“NOW!”  Aqua fled and hid behind Tenenbaum.  

 

“Do not do that; she will hate everyone,” Tenenbaum chastised Master Eraqus. “She is five years old you are troubling her.” Tenenbaum got out of her chair and held out her hand. “Aqua, please, sit with me. I will brush hair.” Aqua brightened up a bit and tentatively sat down on Tenenbaum’s lap, while Tenenbaum began to brush her hair. “You have no control over this. You cannot control life on other worlds. Is not that what you call the 'sin of pride'?”

 

“That does not matter to me.  You still did not react well to the knowledge of other worlds.”

 

“Of course I did not, just as you are not reacting well to knowledge of MY world.”  Tenenbaum retorted, tugging through a particularly bad knot. “And you do not know half of what happened.”  She sighed. “I am 37 years old, and you suddenly want me to accept other worlds exist? And it's...”

 

“You're scared of heights?”

  
“It's not that!” Tenenbaum lashed out.  “I have never flown, but all my life I have lived either on the earth or under the sea.  Here... it is so easy to fall off. And physics aren't working...” She returned to doing Aqua's hair.  “I should not have acted up, but if you wish to discuss Aqua's deprogramming, now is a good time.”

 

“You keep on saying that.”

 

“And I mean it.  We need to put Aqua back to her... eighteen?”

 

“Eighteen”

 

“Eighteen-year-old mindset,”  Tenenbaum explained. She began to fiddle her leg to keep it from falling asleep under Aqua's weight.  “First is getting her to trust, then we need her to understand what happened in Rapture.”

 

“Answer my question first.  How did you figure out there are other worlds.”  Eraqus gripped a pen on the table.

 

“You have American accent with your English, I have German one.  This would mean American Colony, but America does not have many colonies.  If this was colony then American flag would be somewhere, but it is not. You could argue this is city, but there are only three people here, and they are all in this room.  So, we are someplace that is neither city nor colony. If this was outpost, it would not be well kept or large. Look around, the place is clean, the grass is green, and there is sun.”  she smiled for a second, before continuing. “Add that to how your physics work...”

 

“I don't-”

 

“Then listen.  Look at how this place is supported.  You have some odd form of gravity or very advanced architecture knowledge – or both- to have a five pillar building supported by nothing more than chains with force resting on one open room.”  She began to part Aqua's hair again. “So I think that this place is another world. One which does not have permanent residence, or there would be more people here. And I found this in library.”  She reached into her bag and tossed a book on the table before going back to Aqua's hair. The book was titled 'Eraqus' list of worlds he discovered'. Eraqus looked at it and started to laugh.

 

“When did you find it?”

 

“When I finished with my physics and architecture debate.  I was trying to find any books on architecture in your Wunderbar library when I discovered it.  I see my world is not there.”

 

“I've actually never heard of your world before,”  Eraqus admitted as he flipped through the book. “I had forgotten all about this, I made it when I was 13.  What were you doing at 13 that lead to you being… like this?”

 

“Surviving.”  Was Tenenbaum's answer.  “Aqua, you should look at yourself in mirror while I find you some new clothes.  Can you dress by yourself, or do you need help?”

 

“I can dress myself,”  Aqua said proudly. Eraqus put the book aside.

 

“Terra was right.  You figured out you were in another world in less than a day.”

 

“Because I am scientist,”  Tenenbaum said matter of factly.  “You will want to leave when Aqua changes clothes.”  Eraqus left.

**

Tenenbaum was too excited over dinner that night, but once she quietly explained the state of food in Rapture Eraqus forgave her.  As it was, he was impressed with her chain of thinking.

 

“So, when do you start fixing Aqua,”  he asked after dinner. He had found an old toy of Aqua's so she was busy playing with it.  It was some sort of train. She kept on saying “Choo-choo” and running it across the floor and chairs while he and Dr. Tenenbaum tidied up the dining area and cleaned dishes.

 

“Earlier today. You should probably reteach her what she knew to help reage her.  While you are doing that I will work on trust issues and dissuade her from corpses.”  Eraqus almost dropped the dish he was washing.  
  


“What do you mean 'dissuade her from corpses'?”

 

“Little Sister's programming is to make it easy for them to take ADAM from corpses, swallow it, and regurgitate it later.” was Tenenbaum's dispassionate answer.  She dried her dish and put it away, and held her hand out for the next one. “I take it you are happy you never found my world? I do not know if Rapture- the city- would be built when you found it.   But then again, you would have found the Second Great War...” Tenenbaum trailed off as she thought it through.

 

“Doctor Tenenbaum”  Eraqus interrupted her train of thought.  “If she is five, should she go to bed now?”

 

“I do not know.  She may have the mental capabilities of a five-year-old, but her body is that of a teenager.”  Aqua solved their problems by yawning and asking for a teddy bear.

**

“Here,”  Tenenbaum placed several recorders on the table.  “Those are my audio diaries and those involved with me.  You can find out what I did, and how the sisters work”

  
“Have you ever manifested darkness?” Eraqus asked as he turned the audio diaries over in his hands.  Aqua was safely asleep upstairs and Tenenbaum had been set up in one of the spare rooms.

 

“I do not understand.”

 

“Have you ever used dark powers?”  Eraqus asked again. Tenenbaum looked utterly confused.  

 

“I have done evil things if that is what you were asking, but I regret it and I am trying to atone  I may have been trying to survive, but that does not excuse it.' She spoke slowly, evaluating and weighing each word.  

 

“But you have never used dark energy.”

 

“No.”

 

“Then I shall keep an eye on you.”  Eraqus turned his attention back to the diaries and began to fiddle with them.  Tenenbaum leaned over the table.

 

“Press the button on right so diaries play.”

**

Tenenbaum watched the next day as Eraqus and Aqua began to relearn.  As Aqua mentally aged she could reacquaint herself with the keyblade, so the two began to train while Tenenbaum watched.  

 

“Like this?”  Aqua squealed as she began to summon and dismiss her keyblade automatically.  She became so excited that she began to hop up and down. Tenenbaum hid a smile as she went back to work on some obscure mathematical formula.  Eraqus gave a nod, then moved onto the next technique.

**

As time went on, life quickly moved back into a comfortable routine.  Tenenbaum stayed nearby the two as much as possible and tried to show she was harmless by helping Aqua color or sneaking her sweets.  Eraqus recovered her training and she relearned things. Tenenbaum looked down at a book on the use of fractals in architecture.

  
“Umm”  Tenenbaum looked up, one thing Aqua had not done was give her a name yet.  The closest she had come was when she had said that Tenenbaum would be a good mommy.  

 

“What is it Fraulein Aqua?”

 

“I... can you go cartwheel with me?”  Aqua blushed and fiddled with the ground, her shoes would get so dirty.

 

“If I tie up my skirt, yes.” Aqua smiled and ran off to find some rope.

 

Eraqus found them an hour later, dirty, exhausted, but happy.  

 

“Mister Erkus!  Look!” Aqua stood up and began to cartwheel and twirl.  “She taught me!” She pointed towards Tenenbaum, who quickly tried to cover up her knees.  

 

“I'm proud of you Aqua.”  And indeed he looked proud. “It's time to help with dinner, will you come in?”  Aqua hesitated, but nodded and ran in. “I see you're making progress.”  
  
“She approached me, it is marked improvement.  It increases now. The hardest part is getting it started, yes?” Tenenbaum stood up and brushed off her dress.  “Why do you dress like that?”

 

“Because it is traditional in my world, why do you ask?”

 

“It looks nothing like what is from my world. I do not understand it.”    

**

There was a monster under her bed, Aqua knew it.  They were called... un something? She huddled in the patch of light that her nightlight gave off.  The moon, it would hide from the moon. She summoned her keyblade and opened the door with it. Once the moon drifted from behind the clouds, she jumped from her bed and landed in the open door-frame.  She barreled down the hall.

  
“MMOOMMMYY!!!!!!!”

**

 _THUD_ Tenenbaum grabbed her pistol and pointed it at to the door.  Something was there. She tried to slow down her breathing as she slowly inched her way towards the door.  She listened and only heard sobbing. With a deep breath, she cocked her gun, pulled the door open quickly,  and pointed it. Nothing. She looked down and saw Aqua huddled on the floor.

 

“Fraulein Aqua, what is it?”

 

“Mommy? Mommy!  There's a monster under my bed!” Aqua's voice was muffled from hiding her face in her elbow.

 

“I do not think there is monster under your bed.”  Tenenbaum sighed, but she uncocked her gun and knelt down to Aqua.    “But, would you like to sleep in my room tonight?” Aqua looked up and nodded her tear stained face. “Okay, but first let us leave note in your room saying where you are, yes?”  she held out her hand, and Aqua accepted it. The two walked off quietly until they got to Aqua's room.

**

“No monster, see?”  Tenenbaum threw open the door and flipped the lights on.  

 

“Because they disappear in the light.  They're called un... something.” Aqua muttered as she sat on her bed and drew her legs up.  As Aqua babbled, Tenenbaum wrote a quick note and taped it to Aqua's door.

**

 _Knock! Knock! Knock!_ Tenenbaum jerked up in bed and pointed her gun at the door.  “Dr. Tenenbaum? Aqua?” It was Eraqus. Tenenbaum sighed and dropped back in bed for a second until she pulled herself together enough to escape the bed.  Aqua was both a very sound sleeper and one who liked to toss and turn. She uncocked her gun and left it on the table as she walked over to the door.

 

“You want her out of bed, yes?”

 

“I'm up, Mommy.”  Aqua sat up in bed and pulled the sheets up.  “Umm...can I change in my room? Alone?”

 

“Of course, do-”

 

“I can get back to my room by myself.”  Aqua walked out a bit, then curtsied. “Mister Erkus.”    Eraqus looked at Tenenbaum to see a very self-satisfied smirk.

 

“She progressed to ages eight to ten.  She called me Mommy last night.”

 

“I heard it.  How much longer?”

 

“A few weeks at most.  You can see she is improving rapidly.  And you only need to deal with her being teenager for few days.”

 

“I'll get back to training.  Good morning, Dr. Tenenbaum.”

**

“I did not ask this earlier, but what are your monsters?”  Tenenbaum asked. She was sitting at the table outside while reading one of the books from the library.  Eraqus was sitting next to her, writing down everything that Aqua told him about the worlds she visited. Aqua herself was doing cartwheels in the grass.  

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“This morning.  I only denied that monsters were under her bed.  You didn't even do that. My monsters are splicers, what are yours?”  Eraqus put his pen down.

 

“Unversed and Heartless.  Unversed are made up of negative energy from people's emotions.  Heartless are the corrupted hearts of people who fell to Darkness”  Tenenbaum just shrugged after a minute.

 

“I do not get these kinds of explanations.  They make no sense.”

 

“.... I would suppose not if you did not grow up or see them.  You have never seen an Unversed?”

 

“No, never.  Just Splicers, Big Daddies, and people like Ryan and Fontaine. Those people are monsters even if they do not attack everything. Maybe they are worse.” She glanced at Aqua who looked like she was going to say something at “Ryan” but stopped herself. “Good, she's getting better.”

 

“That's... would you like me to explain what they are?

 

“You can try.”

**

“Mister Erkus, why don't you ever hug Mommy?”  Tenenbaum started to choke over her coffee. Eraqus looked flustered.  “I mean... my older Mommy hugs my Daddy. Why don't you?” Eraqus knew it was way too early in the morning to deal with this.  

 

“Aqua, listen, I am not your father, and Tenenbaum is not your mother.  But you can treat her as one if you wish.” Aqua blushed.

**

“AQUA!”  Tenenbaum stormed over to Aqua, who had found crayons and was busy drawing stuff on the walls.  “What ARE you doing?”

 

“Drawing.  I couldn't find paper.”  Aqua shrugged and went back on her picture of...

 

“Aqua,  is that us?”  Indeed it was.  It was Aqua, Eraqus, and Tenenbaum sitting together on the edge of the Land of Departure.   “Aqua, go to your room.”

 

“MOMMY!”  
  
“Room! Now!”  

 

“I HATE YOU!”  And Aqua ran off to her room crying.  

 

“You did the right thing.”  Eraqus had walked up behind her.  “But the drawing is rather nice.”

 

“She probably hates me.”

 

“Maybe.”

 

“She is probably 13 now.”

 

“I know.”

**

“Aqua, Eraqus says he will forgive you if you paint over the drawings.”

 

“Okay.  Mommy, is there anyone you liked before?”  Aqua was sitting on her bed and swung her feet.  She began to fidget in an embarrassed way.

 

“There was a boy, back in Germany.”  Tenenbaum eased onto the bed. It creaked under the sudden weight.  “He worked in a bakery and once a week he would bring me a flower and a little baked good.”  Tenenbaum smiled sadly. “I never found out what happened to him. Is there a boy you like?” Aqua nodded.

 

“His name is Zack.” She began to blush and giggle.  “He lived in the world of Olympus Coliseum and he wanted to be a hero.”  She sighed. “He asked me out on a date.” Her skin turned from pink to bright red.  “I said no” she admitted when she finally settled down. “I... I had training and then there was Gantu who hated me and then I fell and then I met Mrs. Lamb in Rapture and.. And...” Aqua’s face went white.  Tenenbaum watched as Aqua jumped from the bed and fled towards the bathroom.

 

“Girl bonding?”  A voice said. Tenenbaum jumped, drew her gun, and pointed at Eraqus when she heard his voice. Upon seeing that it was just Eraqus, she lowered her gun.  

 

“How long were you there?”

 

“As Aqua left.”Eraqus stood in the doorway.  Tenenbaum walked towards him.

 

“She's certainly thirteen, and I think she just figured out what she did in Rapture.”  Her voice changed back to its business aspect.

 

“Will she be back to normal soon?”

 

“She was mentally and biologically compelled to drain fluids from corpses, then drink it.  Give her some time.”

**

“Master Eraqus, may I stay up tonight?”  Aqua stood tall in the great hall. “I want to see the stars.” She had asked this every night, but tonight was the first time she did it without holding onto a teddy bear.  

 

“You may, Aqua.”  Eraqus walked over.  “Maybe you can find the worlds you visited.”  He placed his hands on her shoulders. “And I'm proud of you getting this far.”  Aqua brightened up and gave him a huge hug before running off to the doors, stopping, and trying to walk dignified the rest of the way.   As soon as the doors closed, Tenenbaum walked into the room.

 

“She wants coffee,”  Tenenbaum admitted as she eased into the chair placed for her.  “Sixteen-year-olds usually want at least two things. Adult things like coffee, and freedom.”

 

“Terra and Ven used to spend time watching the stars together.  She may be trying to reconnect with them.” Eraqus explained as he returned to one of the main throne seats.  “Did you find a good book?”

 

“I had to search your fiction section, but yes.  I thought you would have more books on science.” She pulled the book in question from her bag and the cream pastry that she had been saving. “Do you want some?”

 

“Yes,”  Eraqus said with a smile.   Tenenbaum walked over to the thrones but did not sit as she handed half of the pastry to Eraqus.  “We were never too focused on science, we just had to know about the heart.” Eraqus mused as he prepared to eat the pastry.

 

“Cardiology, you do not have book on that.”

 

“A different heart.  How emotions work. But...”  Eraqus trailed off before pulling his old journal from a compartment hidden in his chair.  “I don't know if we've progressed at all.”

 

“Science always moves forward.  It is what you DO with it that counts.”

 

“Why don't you like power?” He asked after a moment as he held the book in his hands.

 

“Entschuldigen Sie?”

 

“I've watched you.  You only refer to me as 'Lehrer' occasionally and never 'Master'.”

 

“It means the same thing-” Tenenbaum started to argue, but Eraqus stopped her.

 

“Even if it does, you are uncomfortable when anyone sits up here, you don't like the hierarchy, and-”

 

“Nein”  Tenenbaum shook her head. “I do not like people presuming too much power.  It drove all of my world into a war and caused Rapture to fall into madness so quick.  'Master' brings back too many bad memories.”

 

“Fair enough-”  Eraqus was going to ask more, but Aqua ran back in breathless.

 

“Mommy! Master Eraqus! There's some colored  lights but...” She grew frustrated at her lack of words. “Just come!”    The three were greeted outside by a beautiful and unique sight, the Aurora Borealis.  

 

**

After a month of living in the Land of Departure,  Aqua was back to her eighteen-year-old mindset and had regained her “Master' level of powers, but Tenenbaum still called them “Lehrer”  instead of “Master”. One morning Tenenbaum was drinking coffee just inside the building.

  
“Brigid”  she looked up and around to see Lehrer Eraqus running down the steps behind her.  Why was he using her first name? They never did that. “Where's Aqua?”

 

“Outside, is there a problem?”

 

“How long will her mentality stay?” He ran through his normal movements, but each was too jerky.  He put too much effort into acting as if they were normal.

 

“She is guaranteed sane for a few days, after that if something traumatic happens or if she is strongly reminded of Rapture, she will return to being Little Sister.  What is going on?” she placed the coffee down and began to stand up.

 

“Master Yen Sid believes Ven suspects.”  

 

“Who is Lehrer Yen Sid? Herr Ven suspects... what?” Tenenbaum asked completely bewildered.

 

“It doesn't matter. Is there a place that you are safe?” He looked like he was going to grasp her arm.

 

“Herr Jack's house.  What is going on?” she demanded.  

 

“I need to send the two of you away.  Don't ask questions. AQUA!” Aqua turned and ran back up the steps.

 

“Yes, Master?”

 

“I need you to leave now. Don't ask questions”  Aqua closed her mouth. “Is there a world you haven't been to yet?”

 

“One, it had a rainbow and a mountain.”  She mused. “But why can't I go back to-”

 

“Trust me on this.  Go there immediately.  If you see Ven head him off and come back together.  But do NOT go looking for him. Just get to that world.”

 

“Yes Master”  Aqua touched the yellow jewel on her arm and was instantly clad in some sort of armor.  She shot a beam into the sky, transformed her keyblade, and flew off. Before she had fully left, Lehrer Eraqus turned to Tenenbaum.

 

“If I need you again, I'll contact you.”  He summoned a portal for her, this time on the ground.  

 

“I'll be at Herr Jack's house or in Rapture.  There may be more little ones that need me.” She gave a rare smile, and she walked through the portal that leads to the white house.  
**

Birth By Sleep  credits:

 

Tenenbaum is seen writing at a table.  The Ex-Little Sisters grab her and then pull her away from the table.   They pull her to the front door. Jack Ryan is seen walking up to the door, holding a puppy.


End file.
